Ash, Iris and Trip: Then There Were Three! (Japanese: サトシ、アイリス、 シューティー！最後のバトル！！Satoshi, Iris, and Shooty! The Last Battle!!) is the 92nd episode of the Best Wishes series, and the 749th episode of the Pokémon anime. It aired in Japan on August 30, 2012 and in the United States on December 15, 2012.

Contents

Blurb

The second match of the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup semi-finals begins, with Ash’s Krokorok and Iris’s Dragonite going head to head! Dragonite has Krokorok reeling after a powerful pair of direct hits, but Krokorok is determined to hang on—and then it evolves into Krookodile! This brings the match to a new level of intensity, and when Krookodile hits Dragonite hard with a supereffective Dragon Claw, Dragonite gets angry—really angry—and starts ignoring Iris yet again, unleashing one undisciplined attack after another. Iris helplessly pleads with Dragonite to pull itself together and calm down, and Ash feels sorry for his friend…but it’s a battle, after all, and he and Krookodile aren’t about to let up. Krookodile wins, and Ash moves on to the finals!

Iris is frustrated and unhappy after her defeat, and the taunting from Georgia and Burgundy doesn’t help. But Cynthia steps in once again, with her experience in training Dragon types, and counsels Iris to keep working on her relationship with the stubborn Dragonite so it can gain confidence in her.

It’s time for the final round! Ash is up against his rival Trip, and confidence is evident on both sides. Ash’s Pignite has the type advantage over Trip’s Serperior, but Serperior’s unbelievable speed makes it virtually impossible for Pignite to land even a single attack! Although Pignite’s determination is remarkable, and Ash tries to even the odds by having Pignite use Flame Charge over and over to boost its own speed, it’s just not enough. A final Frenzy Plant from Serperior ends the battle, and Trip wins the Junior Cup!

This means, of course, that Trip gets the chance he’s been waiting for: a battle with Unova Champion Alder! The battle gets under way, and Trip is again relying on his super-speedy Serperior, while Alder calls on Bouffalant. Can Trip keep up his impressive winning streak against the region’s top Trainer?

Iris and Ash then get ready to commence their battle, as Ash sends out Krokorok and Iris sends out Dragonite. Ash commands Krokorok to use Crunch, as Iris commands Dragonite to dodge. Much to her own surprise, Dragonite obeyed and dodged Krokorok's attack, making her praise him. Ash then commands Krokorok to use Stone Edge and Iris again commands Dragonite to dodge. After flying away from the stones, Iris tells Dragonite to use Flamethrower, and he obeys, landing a direct hit on Krokorok. Cilan points out that Iris is finally getting through to Dragonite and that Ash is in for a tough battle, as Iris commands Dragonite to use a super effective Ice Beam attack. Krokorok then uses Dig making Dragonite's attack miss, and Dragonite dodges Krokorok's attack after landing. Dragonite again uses Flamethrower and Krokorok dodges it. Iris continues to praise Dragonite for listening to her every command and Georgia begins wondering if Iris really is "Dragon Master material" after all.

Iris tells Dragonite to use Flamethrower and Krokorok dodges again, only to make Dragonite fly up and again use Flamethrower to actually hit Krokorok this time. Dragonite uses Flamethrower once more and Krokorok dodges with Dig. Krokorok resurfaces behind Dragonite and Ash tells him to use Crunch, and Iris commands Dragonite to dodge again. However, Krokorok's attack lands, causing Dragonite considerable damage. Dragonite successfully shakes Krokorok off and follows up with Ice Beam, but Krokorok dodges and lands a super effective Stone Edge attack on Dragonite. Knowing this is his chance to strike, Ash commands Krokorok to use Crunch again, but Dragonite dodges and counterattacks with Flamethrower. Krokorok again tries to use Crunch, but Dragonite intercepts with Flamethrower, followed by a super effective Ice Beam which freezes Krokorok, and finally sends him flying back with another Flamethrower.

Ash encourages Krokorok to get up, and despite the severe damage he has taken, he gets up and begins to evolve. Everyone watches Krokorok's evolution in awe, except for Iris and Dragonite who seem intimidated when the evolution is complete and Krokorok becomes a Krookodile. As Ash tells Krookodile to keep battling, he charges toward Dragonite with his newly learned Dragon Claw attack. Appearing uninfluenced to move a muscle, Dragonite gets slammed across the battlefield after taking the super effective attack from Krookodile. Pikachu and Meloetta cheer Ash and Krookodile on, as Axew is stunned by a non-Dragon-type learning a Dragon-type move upon evolution. After pulling himself together, Dragonite takes on a spiteful look and goes berserk, starting to attack the whole battlefield using threeofhis four attacks. Seemingly not surprised by Dragonite's behavior, Georgia begins ranting that Iris still has a long way to go to become a Dragon Master.

Iris continues trying to get through to Dragonite, but he completely ignores her and continues attacking the battlefield. Although he is worried for Iris, Ash decides that this is still a battle and has Krookodile use Crunch. Iris tells Dragonite to dodge, however instead Dragonite allows himself to take the hit, making Iris scold him for disobeying. Dragonite shakes Krookodile off and charges toward him with Dragon Rush (safe from Iris' command), however his timing is so bad, it gives Krookodile more than enough time to avoid the attack with Dig causing Dragonite to smash into the ground. Ash commands a Stone Edge and Krookodile lands a direct hit, knocking Dragonite out and eliminating Iris from the tournament.

The big screen shows that the final round match-up will be between Trip and Ash. After this, the entire gang is outside, with Dragonite furious about his loss. Iris questions why Dragonite refuses to listen to her commands, as Cynthia joins the gang and explains to Iris that Dragonite does not have complete trust in her yet. Dragonite was just captured by her and he still needs some time to warm up, but this will eventually happen and Iris and Dragonite will be perfect partners. Iris thanks Cynthia for the wise words, just as Ash gets called for his battle with Trip. Ash then runs off while being stoked for his battle.

When Ash enters the battlefield, the gang arrives in the stands and prepares to watch. As expected, Trip sends out Serperior. In response to a Grass-type, Ash sends out Pignite, a Fire-type. Iris points out the obvious type advantage for Pignite, and Cilan points out Serperior's undeniable speed and strength. To open up the battle, Ash commands Pignite to use Tackle, which Serperior dodges. Ash then commands Pignite to use Flamethrower, which Serperior again dodges. Ash then comes up with the idea that Pignite will need to raise his speed in addition to attacking, so he commands him to use Flame Charge, but Serperior dodges again. Everyone appears remarked by Serperior's lightning speed, and the entire gang cheers Ash and Pignite on, including Meloetta.

Trip commands Serperior to use Solar Beam, but Pignite steals Serperior's thunder and dodges. Trip then tells Serperior to use Dragon Tail, which Pignite again dodges. Pignite then uses another Flame Charge which Serperior dodges, then follows up with Tackle and Flamethrower that both get dodged by Serperior. Serperior uses Leer, and Pignite dodges it only to make Serperior use another Dragon Tail, which Pignite also dodges. Pignite uses another Flame Charge and shows his huge speed gain after using the move many times before. However, it is still not enough to hit Serperior, which is proven by him dodging again. Despite his exhaustion from his many dodged attacks, Pignite uses another Flame Charge, which as expected, is dodged by Serperior. Serperior uses Leer and Ash again commands Pignite to dodge. With Pignite in a vulnerable position, Trip knows this is his chance to strike, so he commands Serperior to use Solar Beam, which lands and hurls Pignite onto the ground. Pignite is beginning to look weak, and the entire gang cheers him on.

Pignite gets up, and Ash tells Pignite that he needs to keep battling to be able to beat Serperior. With Pignite back in battling position, Ash suspects that Serperior will not be able to dodge an attack that completely surrounds him, so he commands Pignite to use Fire Pledge. Surprisingly, Serperior moves so fast that he fades into thin air and dodges the surrounding pillars of fire, and is subsequently commanded by his Trainer to use Frenzy Plant. The move lands and knocks Pignite out despite his type advantage, making Trip the winner and Ash the runner-up of the Junior Cup.

Ash recalls Pignite and becomes flustered that he lost to Trip again. After talking to the gang about it, Ash regains his confidence and guarantees that he will be the winner next time he battles Trip. After this, Alder gives Trip the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup Trophy for winning, and explains that their battle will begin immediately. Finally experiencing the moment he has been waiting for since the start of the tournament, he rants about how he will easily beat Alder and become the champion. As Alder and Trip enter the battlefield, Alder sends out Bouffalant, and Trip chooses Serperior again. With everyone watching, Trip commands Serperior to use Solar Beam, and the episode ends here.